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On Thursday this video segment was shown on Channel9 News in Denver
showing a legal (by state law) medical marijuana grow in the basement
of a suburban Highlangs Ranch home.
By Friday Federal DEA agents were at the house shutting down his
operation
carrying away numerous boxes and bags containing medical marijuana,
lights, filters and other equipment, and arresting the owner.
-----
Owner who bragged of large medical-pot
operation jailed in DEA raid
February 13, 2010 - Denver
Post
Federal drug-enforcement agents Friday raided the home of a Highlands
Ranch man who a day earlier bragged in a 9News report about the large
and profitable medical-marijuana-growing operation in his basement.
Along with the raid, Jeffrey Sweetin, the Drug Enforcement
Administration's special agent in charge of the Denver office, sent a
message to anyone involved in Colorado's increasingly profitable
medical-marijuana industry.
"It's still a violation of federal law," Sweetin said. "It's not
medicine. We're still going to continue to investigate and arrest
people."
Agents at the scene Friday evening said the marijuana grower, Chris
Bartkowicz, had been taken into custody. Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman
for the U.S. attorney's office in Denver, said the grower would be held
over the long Presidents Day weekend before a decision on charges is
made Tuesday.
"The U.S. attorney's office will review the evidence the DEA collected
before we make a determination whether we will prosecute," Dorschner
said.
DEA agents converged on the house Friday afternoon and, before leaving
several hours later, removed dozens of marijuana plants in black
plastic trash bags as well as numerous high-powered growing lights.
On Thursday night, 9News promoted a story about Bartkowicz's operation,
and on Friday morning, Bartkowicz was featured in a 9News story posted
to its website and published in The Denver Post. The story was to air
on television Friday night. He told the station he serves as a
caregiver to a number of medical-marijuana patients and hoped to turn a
profit this year in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"I'm definitely living the dream now," Bartkowicz told 9News.
One block from school
That story — coupled with the proximity of Bartkowicz's home to Sand
Creek Elementary School, a block away — drew the attention of DEA
agents.
A memo in October from Deputy U.S. Attorney General David Ogden said
federal agents should not target people in "clear and unambiguous
compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of
marijuana." The memo led many in Colorado's medical-marijuana community
to believe that federal agents would no longer raid medical-marijuana
dispensaries or growers.
But Sweetin said the memo does nothing to change federal law, which
makes marijuana illegal, and instead mostly addresses treatment of
medical-marijuana patients and small-scale growers.
"Prosecution of commercial enterprises that unlawfully market and sell
marijuana for profit continues to be an enforcement priority of the
department," the memo states.
Guidelines included in the memo to distinguish between lawful
medical-marijuana operations and unlawful ones include whether the
operations produce more plants or generate more money than state laws
intend. Sweetin said those guidelines put much of Colorado's
medical-marijuana industry in the crosshairs and that he has been
gathering information on dispensary owners and their operations for
months.
Risking arrest, jail time
"Technically, every dispensary in the state is in blatant violation of
federal law," he said. "The time is coming when we go into a
dispensary, we find out what their profit is, we seize the building and
we arrest everybody. They're violating federal law; they're at risk of
arrest and imprisonment."
Matt Brown, executive director of the pro-dispensary Coloradans for
Medical Marijuana Regulation, said Sweetin's statements are troubling.
Brown argued that the federal memo's hands-off order covers everyone in
compliance with their state's medical-marijuana laws, a group Brown
said includes dispensaries in Colorado. Brown said Friday's raid
highlights the need for lawmakers to create clear rules for how
dispensaries should operate.
"All we're trying to do is follow the rules," he said.
Bartkowicz had talked to 9News about his efforts to keep a low profile
and said he didn't think his neighbors knew about what he was doing
inside his house. But several neighbors said Friday that they had
suspicions after seeing activity late at night at the house and other
puzzling activities.
"I think it's awful," neighbor Linda Palmer said of the
marijuana-growing operation. "There's an elementary school right
there."
Registered: 06/07/04 Posts: 3,322 Loc: A Psychedelic State Last seen: 6 hours, 51 minutes
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: veggie] 1 #12020322 - 02/13/10 06:13 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: ShroomDoom] #12020440 - 02/13/10 07:00 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: veggie] #12020523 - 02/13/10 07:33 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Registered: 02/18/08 Posts: 2,534 Last seen: 1 month, 27 days
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: wowitch17] #12020557 - 02/13/10 07:46 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: PsilocybinMike] #12020604 - 02/13/10 07:56 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
he acts like he has nothing better to do than bust people conflicting with federal law. Forget about the cartels and domestic gangs operating in the area.
Registered: 01/19/10 Posts: 136 Last seen: 1 day, 4 hours
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: wowitch17] #12020614 - 02/13/10 08:00 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: shthd] #12020618 - 02/13/10 08:01 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Registered: 05/20/09 Posts: 72 Last seen: 1 year, 2 months
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: shthd] #12020626 - 02/13/10 08:03 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Registered: 05/31/06 Posts: 1,861 Loc: Brilliance/Insanity
Last seen: 3 months, 6 days
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: wowitch17] #12020645 - 02/13/10 08:07 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Quote: wowitch17 said: blame the black guy, good strat
Considering that it's the president's job to oversee the enforcement of federal laws, it's completely reasonable to hold him responsible.
And what does his race have to do with anything? He's allowing power-hungry DEA morons to ruin the lives of legitimate business owners, who are providing medicine for sick people. It's not surprising that some people are angered by this, myself included.
-------------------- If you can be told what to see or read, then it follows that you can be told what to say or think. ~Boards of Canada
Now we see things, as in a mirror dimly, and we shall see each other face to face.
--------------------
At first there was a time, when I believed a kiss was just a kiss, no matter how I missed you...
Registered: 05/06/07 Posts: 757 Loc: The Other Side
Last seen: 1 day, 27 minutes
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: NobodyCares] #12020671 - 02/13/10 08:18 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Registered: 01/19/10 Posts: 136 Last seen: 1 day, 4 hours
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: NobodyCares] #12020674 - 02/13/10 08:19 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Quote: wowitch17 said: blame the black guy, good strat
That 'black guy' could have helped H.R. 2835 ("Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act") by showing support for the bill. This would bring attention to it thus speeding its process up a bit.
Instead, Obama's memo came out, everybody praises him for supporting medical marijuana, and yet this bill gets delayed, push aside, forgotten...
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: shthd] #12020678 - 02/13/10 08:20 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Registered: 03/03/06 Posts: 17,274 Loc: the city of dis
Last seen: 4 minutes, 28 seconds
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: wowitch17] #12020694 - 02/13/10 08:30 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: novumorganum] #12020719 - 02/13/10 08:37 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
who knows what could happen man. one of those kids could find their way inside the grow op and overdose on hash and get ass plowed by the grow master ending in a costly hospital visit and PTSD.
Registered: 01/19/10 Posts: 136 Last seen: 1 day, 4 hours
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: wowitch17] #12020742 - 02/13/10 08:43 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Quote: wowitch17 said: the first step in starting a revolution is wearing a bandana and acting non chalant, not criticizing our president.
I've got my bandana for the revolution in my closet. That doesn't change the fact that cannabis is illegal. I wouldn't consider the end of prohibition much of a 'revolution.'
Registered: 12/02/06 Posts: 858 Last seen: 10 months, 6 days
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: shthd] #12020799 - 02/13/10 09:00 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
thats really smart of that guy to volunteer to be on the news. Also, the news totally portrayed his situation, like he was getting away with something illegal. its either illegal or its fucking legal. highlighting the fact that he is right next to a school and basically giving away his location wouldnt help anyone, except the DEA or potential home burglars.
-------------------- "hey man wanna smoke some weed?"
"Naw man, i smoke fools like you on the basketball court"
Registered: 10/01/02 Posts: 4,253 Loc: Where Art Meets Crime
Last seen: 1 year, 5 months
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: burtonRebel] #12020931 - 02/13/10 09:37 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
Quote: burtonRebel said: thats really smart of that guy to volunteer to be on the news. Also, the news totally portrayed his situation, like he was getting away with something illegal. its either illegal or its fucking legal. highlighting the fact that he is right next to a school and basically giving away his location wouldnt help anyone, except the DEA or potential home burglars.
yeah I saw the teaser ad for this news spot. the voice over made it sound like the guy was performing evil acts...
still, I would never ever agree to show my face on camera, disclose that I stand to make a boat load of money, or reveal my location of my (federally) illegal activities. this man was either very naive or very stupid.
me thinks this grower is no longer "living the dream."
-------------------- If it weren't for the bloody corpses, I wouldn't have any corpses at all.
There are two ways to get to the top of an oak tree: start climbing or sit on an acorn.
Registered: 02/05/10 Posts: 132 Last seen: 8 months, 24 days
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: veggie] #12020996 - 02/13/10 09:55 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
what a fucking idiot- really the news dumb ass- i wouldnt tell my parents much less the fucking news-he was asking for it- if he stood to make 400k hes a retard selling pot isnt legal and the dea wouldnt have given a shit if he hadnt rubbed it in their face stupid people like this almost deserve to go to jail, maybe now everyone else will shut-the-fuck up and just do it without blabbing on how much they are not paying taxes for-
-------------------- I Before E Except after ME, SEE, what happened was....but don't worry i have it covered...I'll just tell God they died.
Re: Man interviewed on TV about his legal medical marijuana grow busted next day by DEA [CO] [Re: SEE] #12021024 - 02/13/10 10:03 AM (2 years, 3 months ago)
This guy is an idiot. He deserved to get arrested. He went to the local news organization and showed his whole grow operation. All while claiming he wanted it to be unknown. It is still a violation of federal law, and the recent executive order put in place to honor state laws does not apply here because the Colorado law has nothing describing how the dispensaries are to go about getting the pot, which they are allowed to sell.
So heres the deal: Dispensaries MAY sell marijuana in Colorado if they take care of the proper paperwork. However, the people selling marijuana to the dispensaries are in violation of federal law when they do commercial grows because Colorado law does not protect large scale grows.
I doubt California will have issues such as this because their laws are more clear. So this is a Colorado thing.
Lots of experienced growers know not to announce their grow operation on the local evening news.
DUMB DUMB DUMB
-------------------- All I know is that I dont know.
Row, row, row, you boat, gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.
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